Marco Arment

But

To have then the battery, which is the most easily worn out component, to have that be replaceable is great for extending the lifetime of headphones in the same way that, what John was just saying, in the same way that when wired headphones switch to having socketed on both ends cables, that made those headphones last longer.

The headphones...

Most wired headphones I have that I use in regular use, they're at least 10 years old.

Some of them are even older than that.

But, you know, I've had to replace the ear pads a couple times, and that's it.

And so, like, when you have... See, also monitors.

When you have really good components that don't really go out of date, just kind of wear out, it's really good for longevity if you can replace easily the parts that will wear out.

So...

This is all good.

This is a long way of saying this is all good in the world of headphones to have replaceable batteries in wireless headphones because that is by far the earliest part to wear out.

And the headphone can be useful a lot longer than that if you can replace the batteries.

most often break is they can crack right in the middle of the headband.

If it's a reasonably inflexible plastic headband, which most of the big over-ear noise-canceling ones, they have a mostly plastic construction, which is, again, largely good for weight, which is important for comfort, but

Over time, the stressing of that plastic where it bends on the headband, that can sometimes crack.

And they've gotten better over time.

Most of the models out there today have evolved their designs enough that that doesn't happen that often.

But it used to happen a lot more.

Can I just go on a very, very, very quick rant about high-res audio?

I'm timing you.